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Thrilling win for India XI

By Our Special Correspondent

CANBERRA, JAN. 28. Steve Waugh was presented the `Australian of the Year' (2004) trophy during the lunch break of a match between India XI and the Australian Prime Minister's XI here on Wednesday. Prime Minister John Howard presented the trophy to Waugh.

Over a hundred guests that included the four members of Sir Don Bradman's 1948 `Invincibles' — Bill Brown, Arthur Morris, Sam Loxton and Neil Harvey — and the former captain Bobby Simpson attended the function. Mr. Howard thanked the four members and both the teams for taking part in the match. Both Waugh and Sourav Ganguly were presented vintage wine in a wooden case.

The match turned out to be a thriller and India XI beat Prime Minister's XI by one run at the Manuka Oval.

It was another match that went to the last over and the Indian team led by Rahul Dravid and propped up by a fine century (100, 121b, 7x4, 1x6) by Hemang Badani (man of the match) made a modest total. The Prime Minister's XI led by Steve Waugh excelled on the field and took some brilliant catches.

A packed house at the Oval had many reasons to feel excited. For the first time in 20 years tickets were sold out and no less than John Howard was pleased about it. "This is massive support for cricket in Canberra''. Speaking on behalf of the Indian team, Dravid thanked the Prime Minister for giving an opportunity for the Indians to play a match at Canberra. "This match has helped India to prepare for the remaining matches of the VB tri-series. Hemang (Badani) played a good knock. He kept his cool and stayed there. Amit Bhandari bowled under pressure and did well.''

Badani said: "It's a good knock. I grabbed the chance given to me to bat at No. 3. I am very happy.

Brief scores: India XI 254 for eight in 50 overs (S. Bangar 33, H. Badani 100, R. Gavaskar 26; McDonald three for 70) bt Australian PM's XI 253 for six in 50 overs (M. North 74, C. Brown 80, C. Hartley 45 not out).

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